soccer

FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. file photo, Manchester United coach Jose Mourinho sits on the bench during the Champions League group H soccer match between Manchester United and Juventus at Old Trafford, Manchester, England. Manchester United announced Tuesday Dec. 18, 2018, Jose Mourinho has left the Premier League club with immediate effect. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson, File)

Wanted: A coach to restore Manchester United to its former status as a major force in European soccer. It was a task that proved beyond even Jose Mourinho. United brought an end to Mourinho's turbulent 2½-year spell at the storied English club by firing him on Tuesday, an inevitable move that...

FILE - In this Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016 file photo Manchester United's manager Jose Mourinho, right, with Manchester United's Paul Pogba just prior to the start of Europa League group A soccer match between Manchester United and Zorya Luhansk at Old Trafford, Manchester, England. Manchester United says Jose Mourinho has left the Premier League club with immediate effect. The decision was announced Tuesday Dec.18, 2018, two days after a 3-1 loss to Liverpool left United 19 points off the top of the Premier League after 17 games. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson, File)

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — The Latest on Jose Mourinho's departure from Manchester United (all times local): 11:00 p.m. Has the Norwegian Prime Minister let slip that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is to be the interim manager at Manchester United? A tweet sent by the official account of Erna Solberg, and...

FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018 file photo Manchester United coach Jose Mourinho looks out from the bench prior a Group H Champions League soccer match between Valencia and Manchester United at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia, Spain. Manchester United says Jose Mourinho has left the Premier League club with immediate effect. The decision was announced Tuesday Dec.18, 2018, two days after a 3-1 loss to Liverpool left United 19 points off the top of the Premier League after 17 games. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

When you're in a hole, stop digging: That's the strategy Manchester United is pursuing by sacking Jose Mourinho. Ditching the manager midseason, a risky move with no successor in place, became necessary not simply because results on the pitch have been bad but because the 55-year-old's negativity...

FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018 file photo Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho, seen through foam bubbles, wipes his forehead prior the English Premier League soccer match between West Ham United and Manchester United at London Stadium in London in London, England. Manchester United says Jose Mourinho has left the Premier League club with immediate effect. The decision was announced Tuesday Dec. 19, 2018, two days after a 3-1 loss to Liverpool left United 19 points off the top of the Premier League after 17 games.(AP Photo/Tim Ireland, File)

LONDON (AP) — The rot runs deep at Manchester United. Firing Jose Mourinho just removes the immediate stench of gloom. With every rebuke aimed — very publicly — at his players or paymasters, Mourinho looked more fixated on picking public fights rather than addressing his own shortcomings. Call it...

FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2018 file photo Martin Winterkorn, former CEO of the German car manufacturer 'Volkswagen', arrives for the annual general meeting of FC Bayern Munich soccer club in Munich, Germany. The club said Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018 that Winterkorn stood down as FC Bayern Muenchen AG supervisory board member at Monday's board meeting. He had informed supervisory board chairman Uli Hoeneß of the decision earlier. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, file)

MUNICH (AP) — Former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn has left German soccer champion Bayern Munich's supervisory board, three years after he resigned from the automaker amid its diesel emissions scandal. The club said Tuesday that the 71-year-old Winterkorn left on Monday after nearly 16 years as...

Manchester United former manager Jose Mourinho leaves the Lowry Hotel in Manchester, England, Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018. Jose Mourinho was fired by Manchester United on Tuesday after failing to restore its status as a major European force in a turbulent 2½-year spell marked by clashes with players and increasing disgruntlement at the team's style of play. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

He started off as a translator before becoming a self-styled "Special One," as close as it gets to being a guaranteed winner of titles. Now he's unemployed, with a philosophy seemingly unsuited to modern soccer. Jose Mourinho's firing by Manchester United on Tuesday is the latest chapter in a...

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Lionel Messi received his record fifth Golden Shoe award on Tuesday for leading all of Europe's soccer leagues in scoring last season. Messi's fifth win breaks the tie he had with Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi scored 34 goals in the Spanish league last season to lead Barcelona to...

Paul Pogba was soccer's most expensive player two years ago. He was lifting the World Cup with France only five months ago. So how has it gotten to the stage where, on Sunday, one of the world's most talented midfielders didn't even get off the bench for Manchester United in one of its biggest...

Liverpool's Xherdan Shaqiri, right, celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield in Liverpool, England, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Substitute Xherdan Shaqiri scored two goals from deflected shots to help Liverpool beat fierce rival Manchester United 3-1 and lift his team back atop the Premier League on Sunday. Days after keeping Liverpool in the Champions League with a stunning late save against...

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp, right, and Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho seen prior to the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield in Liverpool, England, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

Jose Mourinho chose his words carefully, and they proved to be as candid as they were concerning for Manchester United as its worst start to a Premier League season hit a new low. "Liverpool," Mourinho said, "is a better team than us." Liverpool's 3-1 win over its great rival on Sunday was...